#1 SC/#13 LSU to Battle in SEC Matchup

LSU's Kim Mulkey and SC's Dawn Staley. CREDIT: Allison Irons edit, all credit to original owners. 

Kim Mulkey and LSU Tigers are ready to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks tonight. LSU currently ranks first in the South Eastern Conference (SEC) while South Carolina is mere three spots below. This will be a gripping game for any fan. Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks are determined to make up for an early conference loss to Missouri last week.

Let us take a dive into each team’s season to date. Starting with LSU, Coach Mulkey has taken this program and made them into a National Championship caliber team. Mulkey became the Tiger’s head coach in the spring of 2021 after 21 seasons at Baylor. She led the Baylor Bears to three championships, most recently in 2019. This season, the LSU Tigers have the potential to win their first national championship and earn their first conference championship since 2008.

Currently ranked 13th on the Associated Press list, the Tigers have taken down three ranked opponents. Iowa State, Georgia, and Texas A&M. Their record is currently 14-1, only losing to Florida Gulf Coast on November 14th. This records huge improvement from last season as the Tigers went on the only win 9 of their 22 games. LSU lost both games against South Carolina during conference play.

LSU'S Khayla Pointer (3) goes up for a layup during an SEC matchup against South Carolina last year. CREDIT: Cresent City Sports.

What is different for the Tigers this season? Mulkey has brought the championship-caliber statues to this team. Her recruiting efforts and quick transformation of the team have hosted a huge turnaround for this LSU program. The Tiger’s leading scorer is Khayla Pointer in her fifth season for LSU. Alexis Morris will also be a sharpshooter in tonight’s game.

South Carolina has won the last twelve matchups against the Tigers. The two conference games last season were close, LSU only losing by four or seven points. This rivalry is a great wait to start the New Year for the #1 ranked team in the nation. The Gamecocks lost their first conference game to Missouri on December 30th, 69-70. Aaliyah Boston’s final shot could not count as the clock did not allow for a scored point.

On January 2, the Gamecocks returned home for their SEC matchup against Mississippi State. They won 80-68 to move to 1-1 in conference play. Boston has been the top scorer for South Carolina this season. She scored 17 points in the Mizzou game, adding 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Boston then went on to score 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Mississippi.

South Carolina's Destanni Henderson (center) & Aliyah Boston (right) defend LSU's Awa Trasi (0) last January. CREDIT: Matthew Hinton, AP. 

Dawn Staley currently has three players on the Wooden Award watchlist. Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, and Destanni Henderson have been named. #2 Stanford has two players with Hailey Jones and Cameron Brink. Baylor’s NaLyssa Smith, a 2020-2021 Wooden Award All-American rejoins the list this season. #11 ranked UConn’s Paige Bueckers, who won the award last season, remains in the Top 25 though she recovers from knee surgery. Dawn Staley has created a dynasty in South Carolina in her 14 years at the helm. The Hall of Fame coach, and player, is going against Kim Mulkey’s dynasty in the making with LSU.

LSU has been impressive, and without a doubt, be the best opponent South Carolina will face in SEC play this season. The Gamecocks have won the last six SEC Conference Championships, except in 2019 when the Mississippi Bulldogs won. In that same year, Staley’s Gamecocks faced Mulkey’s #1 ranked Baylor [SC was ranked 4th for their region] in the Sweet Sixteen.

Tonight’s game will be televised on the SEC Network through ESPN+ at 8 pm.